Murphy Thanks Supporters In New Britain Monday, 12-13
5th District Congressman Chris Murphy will thank New Britain area volunteers for their support in this year’s election at a party on Monday, December 13th, from 5 to 7 p.m. The event will be held at the Whinstone Tavern (Stanley Golf Course), 245 Hartford Road, New Britain.

Murphy, who convincingly won a third term in a difficult mid-term election environment, received 75% support in New Britain on November 2nd and was the city’s highest Democratic voter getter.

DTC Meets Thursday December 16: Making Plans for 2011

The Town Committee will meet on Thursday, December 16th, at 7:30 p.m. at New Britain City Hall, 27 West Main Street, New Britain. All Democrats are welcome to attend.

On the agenda will be finalizing appointments to the municipal nominations committee that will screen and provide information on candidates for city offices prior to July endorsements next year.

New Britain Democrats Inaugural Party Slated For January 7th At Trinity On Main

A New Britain Democrats’ Inaugural Party will be held on Friday January 7th from 7 to 11 p.m. at the Trinity-On-Main Center, 69 Main Street.

The DTC fundraiser will include music, a recognition program and cuisine from local restaurants as Democrats celebrate the victories of 2010 and seek to promote greater involvement in the Democratic Party in 2011.

Individual donations to the Inaugural Party are $35. Program advertising is available. For an invitation and more information email newbritaindemocrat@gmail.com or call the Town Chair at 860-827-9469.

From the Chair:

FCC To Take Key Vote On Net Neutrality December 21: Free and Open Internet Is At Stake

A bad, fiscally irresponsible tax deal favoring the rich over working and middle-income people isn’t the only thing to worry about in Washington these days. The Obama Administration’s FCC Chair and his Commission needs to step up and protect the public interest this month. At stake is a free and open internet that is the only and best hope for an effective Fourth Estate and a free exchange of ideas and information.

More than 80 grassroots organizations, businesses, technology experts and public interest advocates filed a letter with the Federal Communications Commission on December 10, signaling broad support for strong Network Neutrality rules. The letter highlighted five key areas in which rules proposed by FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski must be improved to protect the free and open Internet. The Commission is slated to vote on Net Neutrality on Dec. 21.

Proponents of public access and stronger rules say “real net neutrality” must include a ban on paid prioritization, which would allow Internet service providers to speed up their preferred content and services while slowing down the rest; extending protections to wireless networks so mobile broadband providers cannot act as gatekeepers on the mobile Web; no loopholes in key language that would allow providers to exempt themselves from rules; and clear rules for “specialized services” that would prevent a pay-for-play platform that could stifle innovation and threaten the Internet’s level playing field.

“There are several fatal flaws with Chairman Genachowski’s reported draft proposal that will harm the open Internet in irreversible ways if they are not addressed by the time the agency votes on a rule,” said Free Press Research Director S. Derek Turner. “If this proposal is adopted as is, the FCC will send a signal to the market that free speech and innovation on the Web require the permission of Comcast and AT&T.”

The letter also asserts that rules must be built on a sound legal foundation and calls on the agency to restore its authority over broadband by reclassifying it under Title II of the Communications Act.

I admire Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. I advised the former and worked for the latter. They are good men. But they have either been outwitted by the privileged and powerful of America, or seduced by those on Wall Street and the executive suites of America into believing that the Republican nostrums are necessary, or succumbed Democratic advisors who think in terms of small-bore tactics rather than large and principled strategies. I urge congressional Democrats to remember the larger principles — not in order to be purist or make the perfect the enemy of the better, but to move toward an economy and a society that we believe in, that reflects the needs of the vast majority of Americans at this difficult time.

New Britain Democrat

New Britain Democrat is the online home of the New Britain Democratic Town Committee (NBDTC).
The Town Committee is a volunteer organization comprised of members elected from the city's voting districts every two years.
The Town Committee promotes citizen participation at all levels; endorses candidates for local and state offices; elects slates to conventions for state and federal offices and supports candidates who embody Democratic principles without consideration of race, creed, sexual orientation or national origin.
Volunteers are welcome to join the NBDTC as associate members and to serve on committees.